Roles of verb and construction cues

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 332-362
Author(s):  
Gyu-Ho Shin ◽  
Hyunwoo Kim
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Semantic Information ◽  
Sorting Task ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Verb Semantics ◽  
Sentence Meaning ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Constructionist Approach

Abstract This study investigates how speakers of English and Korean, two typologically distinct languages, derive information from a verb and a construction to achieve sentence comprehension. In a sentence-sorting task, we manipulated verb semantics (real versus nonce) in each language. The results showed that participants from both languages were less inclined to sort sentences by a verb cue when the lexical-semantic information about a verb was obscured (i.e., nonce verb). In addition, the Korean-speaking participants were less likely affected by the verb semantics conditions than the English-speaking participants. These findings suggest the role of an argument structure construction in sentence comprehension as a co-contributor of sentence meaning, supporting the constructionist approach. The findings also imply language-specific mechanisms of sentence comprehension, contingent upon the varied impact of a verb on sentence meaning in English and Korean.

Semantics and morphosyntax in predictive L2 sentence processing

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Holger Hopp
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Semantic Information ◽  
Lower Sensitivity ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
Verb Semantics ◽  
Anticipatory Processing ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
L1 English

AbstractIn the context of current approaches to anticipation in native and non-native sentence processing, this paper investigates whether late second-language (L2) learners integrate morphosyntax, i.e. case marking, and verb semantics to generate anticipations in L2 sentence comprehension. In a visual-world eye-tracking experiment with 45 L1 English L2 learners of German and 12 German natives, German natives are found to integrate morphosyntactic and lexical-semantic information in anticipatory processing, while L2 learners only rely on lexical-semantic information for prediction. Moreover, there is no indication that increasing proficiency leads to the involvement of morphosyntax in predictive L2 processing. We discuss reasons for the lower sensitivity to morphosyntax in anticipatory L2 sentence processing.

The role of prediction in construction-learning

2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 407-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
ADELE E. GOLDBERG ◽  
DEVIN M. CASENHISER ◽  
NITYA SETHURAMAN
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Morphological Form ◽  
Cue Validity ◽  
Sentence Meaning ◽  
Linguistic Categorization

It is well-established that (non-linguistic) categorization is driven by a functional demand of prediction. We suggest that prediction likewise may well play a role in motivating the learning of semantic generalizations about argument structure constructions. We report corpora statistics that indicate that the argument frame or construction has roughly equivalent cue validity as a predictor of overall sentence meaning as the morphological form of the verb, and has greater category validity. That is, the construction is at least as reliable and more available than the verb. Moreover, given the fact that many verbs have quite low cue validity in isolation, attention to the contribution of the construction is essential.

Rules and construction effects in learning the argument structure of verbs

2003 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 797-821 ◽  
Author(s):  
KATHERINE DEMUTH ◽  
'MALILLO MACHOBANE ◽  
FRANCINA MOLOI
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Rule Learning ◽  
Double Object ◽  
Learning Problem ◽  
Order Restrictions ◽  
Bantu Languages ◽  
Verb Semantics ◽  
Applicative Constructions

Theorists of language acquisition have long debated the means by which children learn the argument structure of verbs (e.g. Bowerman, 1974, 1990; Pinker, 1984, 1989; Tomasello, 1992). Central to this controversy has been the possible role of verb semantics, especially in learning which verbs undergo dative-shift alternation in languages like English. The learning problem is somewhat simplified in Bantu double object constructions, where all applicative verbs show the same order of postverbal objects. However, Bantu languages differ as to what that order is, some placing the benefactive argument first, and others placing the animate argument first. Learning the language-specific word-order restrictions on Bantu double object applicative constructions is therefore more akin to setting a parameter (cf. Hyams, 1986). This study examined 100 three- to eight-year-old children's knowledge of word order restrictions in Sesotho double object applicatives. Performance on forced choice elicited production tasks found that four-year-olds showed evidence of rule learning, although eight-year-olds had not yet attained adult levels of performance. Further investigation found lexical construction effects for three-year-olds. These findings suggest that learning the argument structure of verbs, even when lexical semantics is not involved, may be more sensitive to lexical construction effects than previously thought.

Coordinating comprehension and production in simultaneous interpreters: Evidence from the Articulatory Suppression Effect

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
CAROLINA YUDES ◽  
PEDRO MACIZO ◽  
TERESA BAJO
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Articulatory Suppression ◽  
Semantic Information ◽  
Simple Complex ◽  
Phonological Working Memory ◽  
Suppression Effect ◽  
Simultaneous Interpreting ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Production Processes

This study aimed to investigate the capacity of coordinating comprehension and production processes and the role of phonological working memory in simultaneous interpreting. To this end we evaluated the Articulatory Suppression (AS) effect in three groups of participants, monolingual controls, students of interpreting and professional interpreters. Three variables were examined, the material to be studied (words, pseudo-words), the complexity of the articulations (simple, complex) and the articulatory rate (participants produced their speech at their own rate). Monolingual controls showed AS effect in all study conditions; students of interpreting showed AS effect in complex study conditions and professional interpreters showed AS effect only when they studied pseudo-words and produced complex articulations. These results suggest that coordinating comprehension and production processes in interpreters is mediated by the retrieval of lexical–semantic information and the distribution of the speech.

Subcortical Contributions to Language

2019 ◽  
pp. 850-876
Author(s):  
David A. Copland ◽  
Anthony J. Angwin
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Neuroimaging Data ◽  
Attentional Engagement

While it is well established that language processing is dependent on cortical mechanisms, the role of the subcortex in language function has been a point of contention since the initial clinical-anatomical observations of language deficits following vascular subcortical lesions. This chapter reviews both traditional proposals and recent discoveries of the functional and structural connectivity of the basal ganglia and thalamus with the cortex, suggesting that these subcortical structures are well positioned to contribute to language processing. It then examines both patient and healthy neuroimaging data implicating the thalamus and basal ganglia in various aspects of language, including lexical-semantics, verb/action processing, grammar, and sentence comprehension. While there is still considerable conjecture regarding the role of the basal ganglia in a number of these operations, there is now considerable evidence that the thalamus influences lexical-semantic processing through attentional engagement, while striatal-thalamic-cortical circuits most likely influence lexical-semantic functions, bilingual language processing, and sentence comprehension through domain-general mechanisms, including controlled selection and suppression.

Effects of Subvocal Suppression on Learning Disabled Readers' Sentence Comprehension

1983 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-216
Author(s):  
H. Lee Swanson
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Present Experiment ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Learning Disabled ◽  
Semantic Knowledge ◽  
Reading Groups ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Disabled Readers

The present experiment investigated the role of subvocalization in learning disabled readers' comprehension difficulties. Nondisabled and learning disabled readers were compared on silent reading and listening comprehension of noun lexical, verb lexical, semantic and inferential sentences under conditions of suppressed and nonsuppressed subvocalization. Compared to nondisabled readers learning disabled readers were inferior in comprehension when required to combine concepts and integrate ideas. However, the two groups were comparable in comprehension of noun and verb lexical sentences when allowed to subvocalize. For both reading groups subvocalization was found to be necessary for comprehension of individual words; however, suppression of subvocalization did not interfere with the integration of ideas. Three hypotheses were offered to account for disabled readers' comprehension performance. The results are best interpreted as an extended working-memory hypothesis supporting the theory that learning disabled readers' deficient semantic knowledge impairs their use of subvocalization strategies.

The role of sound-symbolic forms in Motion event descriptions

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiyoko Toratani
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Information ◽  
Literary Texts ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Symbolic Forms ◽  
Motion Event ◽  
Motion Event Descriptions ◽  
Secondary Element

This article discusses the role played by sound-symbolic forms (SSFs) in Motion event descriptions, focusing on the case of mimetics — SSFs — in Japanese. An examination of literary texts shows that mimetics occur not only as the secondary element to another Co-event specifying form but also as the sole Co-event specifying element of the clause. As the latter, mimetics express Manner, Concomitance and Concurrent Result, i.e., three out of the eight relations a Co-event can have with the main Motion event (Talmy, 2000). This limited capability suggests that they are not the principal Co-event specifying form of Japanese. Nevertheless, they play an important role in Motion event descriptions as they: (i) supply indispensable lexical semantic information, being laden with rich meanings (e.g., rate in Manner) that parallel Basque movement imitatives (Ibarretxe-Antuñano, 2006); (ii) add nuances to a scene by combining with a diverse range of verbs/predicates, going beyond oft-cited collocational pairs such as yotiyoti aruku [toddling walk] ‘toddle’.

scholarly journals The Critical Role of Semantic Working Memory in Language Comprehension and Production

2021 ◽  
pp. 096372142199517
Author(s):  
Randi C. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Semantic Information ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Activated State ◽  
Limited Scope

Although research on the role of verbal working memory (WM) in language processing has focused on phonological maintenance, considerable evidence indicates that the maintenance of semantic information plays a more critical role. This article reviews studies of brain-damaged and healthy individuals demonstrating the contribution of semantic WM to language processing. On the sentence-comprehension side, semantic WM supports the retention of individual word meanings prior to their integration. It also serves to maintain semantic information in an activated state such that semantic interference between sentence constituents can be resolved. Phonological WM does not appear to support either of these functions, though it contributes to verbatim sentence recall. On the production side, evidence points to the phrase as the minimal scope of advance planning in sentence formulation, and to semantic WM as supporting the representation of the meanings of the content words within a phrase. Planning at the phonological level appears to have a very limited scope, making few demands on phonological WM. These findings imply that treatment of semantic but not phonological WM deficits should lead to improved sentence comprehension and production, and preliminary findings support that view.

The KEY to lexical semantic representations

2006 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
JEAN-PIERRE KOENIG ◽  
ANTHONY R. DAVIS
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Semantic Content ◽  
Semantic Representations ◽  
Grammatical Function ◽  
Natural Language Semantic ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Recursive Predicate ◽  
Predicate Argument Structure ◽  
Difficult Cases

It is widely accepted that the semantic content of a lexical entry determines to a large extent its syntactic subcategorization or other contexts of occurrence. However, clarifying the precise extent to which this hypothesis holds has proven difficult and on occasion controversial. To maintain this hypothesis, scholars have in many difficult cases introduced syntactic diacritics in their lexical semantic representations, thereby running the risk of rendering it vacuous. Our answer to this challenge is two-fold. First, on the substantive side, we argue that the problem lies in the assumption that the semantic content of lexical entries consists of a recursive predicate-argument structure. In contrast, we claim that the semantic content of lexical entries can consist of a set of such structures, thus eschewing semantically unmotivated predicates that merely ensure the correct semantic geometry. Second, on the structural side, we suggest that the semantic content of words can idiosyncratically select one of those predicate-argument structures for the purposes of direct grammatical function assignment. We show that this hypothesis, which builds on independently motivated proposals regarding the form of underspecified natural language semantic representations, provides a clean account of linking phenomena related to several classes of predicators: verbs whose denotata require the presence of an instrument, the semantic role of French ‘adjunct’ clitics, commercial event verbs, the spray/load alternations, and lexical subordination constructions.

scholarly journals A Comparative Genre Study of Spoken English Produced by Chinese EFL Learners and Native English Speakers

2011 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Lijuan Ye
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Written Argumentation ◽  
Native English Speaking

Previous research within the field of argumentation has established that argumen- tation plays an important role in a variety of professions. Written argumentation has been extensively explored and investigated to examine its various aspects, in- cluding argument structures and schemes, argumentative strength, the role of au- dience, the evaluation of argument, argumentative persuasiveness and force, and so on. It appears, however, that few studies have been carried out to address the issues of spoken argumentation. To fill the gap, this article attempts to compare elements of the spoken argumentative genre produced by Chinese EFL learners to those in their native English-speaking counterparts. Findings from the study show that the former group generally produced an exposition genre focusing on one side of the argument, whereas the latter group noted two or more sides of the argument in order to balance the issue. In addition, Chinese EFL learners tended to use a formulaic argument structure, whereas native English speakers used a more discursive pattern. Pedagogical implications and potential directions for future studies on spoken English argumentation are suggested in the conclusion.Des recherches antérieures dans le domaine de l’argumentation ont établi que cette capacité joue un rôle important dans diverses professions. L’argumentation par écrit a été intensément explorée et ses divers aspects bien étudiés, y compris la structure et les schémas, la force des arguments, le rôle du public, l’évaluation du raisonnement, le pouvoir de persuasion, et ainsi de suite. Toutefois, il semble que peu de recherches ont porté sur l’argumentation orale. Afin de combler cette lacune, cet article a comme objectif de comparer des éléments de l’argumentation orale d’apprenants chinois d’ALE à ceux de leurs homologues anglophones. Les résultats de l’étude indiquent que les premiers produisaient, de façon générale, un exposé traitant d’un côté de l’argument alors que les deuxièmes en évoquaient deux aspects ou plus de sorte à équilibrer la question. De plus, les apprenants chinois tendaient à employer une structure argumentative basée sur des formules tandis que les anglophones avaient recours à une structure plus discursive. La conclusion de l’article offre des incidences pédagogiques et des orientations pos- sibles pour la recherche portant sur l’argumentation orale en anglais.

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